Resolution about participation in the arts and media

Life and Art without Boundaries was a Nordic conference held in Reykjavik in September 2009. The themes were Visibility, Rights and Participation. The conference participants published a resolution to inform the cultural institutions and decision makers about the right of disabled people to participate in the arts on an equal basis with other members of society, as is declared in article 30 of the United Nations´ Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The conference Life and Art without boundaries was hosted by the Cultural Festival "Art Without Boundaries", an annual event in Iceland focusing on bringing the handicapped and general public together in art, where different groups and individuals join hands through culture as participants and audience in order to increase awareness and understanding between people of different abilities for the benefit of society as a whole.

The organizers of the annual happening "Art Without Boundaries" are Landssamtökin Þroskahjálp (National organization of the handicapped), Öryrkjabandalag Íslands (The Organization of Disabled in Iceland), Fjölmennt (adult education for the handicapped), Átak (Association of the Mentally handicapped), and Hitt húsið (Youth Centre in Reykjavík).

The conference was organized in cooperation with the Nordic Council on Disability Policy and the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture of Iceland, with the support of the Nordic Council of Ministers and Nordic Cultural Fund. The conference was held as part of the programme of Nordic Cooperation under the chairmanship of the Icelandic government in 2009.